Cleverness In Pop

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Do you appreciate what I'm going to call 'cleverness' - wordplay, allusion, non-standard structures, etc. - in pop music? Is it something you look for? Who does it well?

Do you think there's an opposition between cleverness and directness (in emotional or physical impact)? Should pop be cleverer?

(Qn arising from today's Popular entry)

Comments

is there an opposition between cleverness and directness (in emotional or physical impact)?

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

This isn't quite answering the intended question, I suspect, but here's an example of a writing partnership where the opposition is frequently set up within the song itself, viz John/Taupin songs of the 70s

The way they work basically is - Bernie writes a lyric, Elton sets it to music. In the early days Elton never knew what he was going to get before it was handed to him, and Bernie didn't often stint on the allusion and metaphor. He was often cryptic to the point of obtuseness in fact. That memorable and moving pop songs were created out of some of these lyrics seems little short of miraculous to me. But equally they wouldn't be half so affecting without the element of impenetrableness.